I. (141:1–2) O Lord, Hear My Prayer. Each singer earnestly asks God, “Give ear to my voice when I call to you!” The prayer that he offers, sung in corporate worship, is likened to sacrificial acts also performed in worship: “incense” (Ex. 30:8; Luke 1:10; and the image in Rev. 5:8) and “evening sacrifice” (Ex. 29:41). On the “lifting up of my hands” in worship and prayer cf. Psalms 28:2; 63:4; 119:48; 134:2.

II. (141:3–5) Keep Me from Taking Part in Their Evil. The singer may be inclined to avoid danger by joining the “men who work iniquity,” and this section asks God to help him avoid all such temptation. The request of verse 3 (“Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth”) is probably to be taken in that light; it is a prayer that God would protect the faithful from playing along with schemers in speech that betrays the Lord and his godly ones. This prayer displays great insight into how a person in these circumstances would actually feel, therefore guiding the faithful in earnest soul searching and prayer.

The faithful person will readily accept correction from others of the faithful (v. 5; cf. Prov. 27:5–6); at the same time, his “prayer is continually against” the evil deeds of the schemers.

III. (141:6–7) Judgment Shall Overtake Them at Last. The Hebrew of these verses presents some difficulties (cf. ESV mg.). The ESV text is a reasonable rendering; the main point is that eventually God will bring his judgment upon the “judges.” This term commonly refers to people with civil authority, and here it apparently designates the leaders among the ungodly schemers. Then the faithful person will be vindicated, and the unfaithful might even learn wisdom; they (the people in general, including the unfaithful) “shall hear [the singer’s] words, for they are pleasant” (implying that the people will recognize the pleasantness and good sense of these words).

It is perhaps easiest to imagine the words of Psalm 141:7 as being spoken by the oppressors as they anticipate divine judgment; some of them, perhaps, will gain wisdom, repent, and thus avoid the judgment. Alternatively, it expresses the notion that each person will eventually die, which ensures that everyone faces an ultimate and inescapable reckoning (cf. Psalms 49; 73).

IV. (141:8–10) I Trust You to Keep Me Safe. Meanwhile, the faithful keep the eyes of their hearts looking toward God in trust. In verses 9–10 we learn that the “evildoers” (introduced in v. 4) are laying schemes to harm the faithful (“trap,” “snares,” and “nets”). The prayer that God would “keep” the singer from falling prey to their schemes becomes a prayer that the “wicked” would “fall into their own nets” (cf. comment on 140:9–11). These words make clear the identity of the evildoers in view. They are not simply ordinary annoying people, nor difficult neighbors, nor even those who do petty harm. Rather, they are powerful people with schemes that bring harm on the faithful; in pursuing such schemes so they defy the very purpose for which the people of Israel exist, and therefore they must fail in order for God’s purposes to flourish.